“Conservation Grazing” at Grasslands National Park ......Saskatchewan on daily nesting success of Sprague's pipits Estimate LCL UCL P Sprague's pipit nesting success Nest litter

“Conservation Grazing” at Grasslands National Park,

Saskatchewan, Canada

Scott Mitchell & Nicola Koper

www.grazingbiodiversity.org

Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory

www.glel.carleton.ca

National Resource Institute

1Thursday, October 9, 2008

http://www.grazingbiodiversity.org

http://www.grazingbiodiversity.org

http://www.glel.carleton.ca

http://www.glel.carleton.ca

Background (speaker)• “Does Pattern Matter?” (1996-2003)

• primary productivity patterns in GNP

• modelling and field work - BGC

• joined GLEL - landscape heterogeneity

• 2006 introduced to BAGEX, 2008 first field work grazed/ungrazed

• also: ag. hetero-diversity in Eastern Ontario

= ?= =2Thursday, October 9, 2008

Canada - Ecozones & Parks



Grasslands National Park

• PC: ecological integrity goals:

• species-at-risk

• disturbance

• alien species

• adaptive management

• monitoring

• grazing essential for regional diversity and integrity

• proposed prescribed grazing with mix of intensities


Grazing, Experimental Area


Bison Reintroduction

• Plains Bison (Bison bison bison) reintroduced December 2005

• herd of 71: 30 male calves, 30 female calves, 11 yearlings

• 181 sq km (70 sq mi) area, 5 wire fence @ 54”


Bison management• case-by-case escape

management plan, with compensation

• herd size management

• surplus, “bones on the prairie” removals

• disease testing

• monitor heterozygosity


Fire management

• Management plan (2002)

• wildfires suppressed

• small prescribed burns

• learning: effects and control

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature5/gallery2.html


Detailed fire plan (2007)

• fire as ecological process: integrity

• fire use “will help to achieve ecosystem management objectives through:”

• shift of veg composition to natives

• increasing spatial and temporal heterogeneity (1 to 10000m scales)

• strategic fuel modification (proactive)

• prescribed burns start 1-2/y 10-75ha, attract intensive grazing and thus reduce CWG seed


Grazing management

• reintroduction of large mammal grazing:

• goals include restoration of heterogeneity

• choices: species, intensity

• cattle part of the plan because:

• primary commercial use of grasslands

• financial incentive to protect prairies

• alternative to historical disturbances

• benefits: reduce litter & likelihood of catastrophic fires, increase desirable habitat

• what are the risks? best stocking plans?


Effects of grazing intensity on prairie

• Vary with:

• Spatial scale

• Pasture size

• Environmental variability

• Time

• Studies should therefore incorporate:

• Multiple spatial scales

• Pasture sizes relevant to management

• Long period of time

(EID)


BAGEX: Biodiversity and Grazing Experiment Exploring effects of stocking rates on biodiversity

• Large spatial scale (13 pastures ~ 300 ha)

• ~ 900 ha of ungrazed control

• ~1200 ha of long-term grazed control

• Previously ungrazed for > 15 years

• Beyond BACI design

• Before-treatment sampling of all sites (2006-2007), multiple treatment levels, spatial controls

• Cattle introduced in 2008

• ~ Equal amount and distribution of aquatic, riparian, lowland, slope & upland habitats

• Sampling songbirds, vegetation, invertebrates, soil

• Long term (10 years) (2008-2017)


Experimental Area

• ungrazed since 1987


Experimental Area

• upland grasslands, valley grasslands, riparian areas


MankotaCommunity

Pasture (MCP)

MCP

PrivateLand

GNPAcquired

2001

Grasslands National Park

(GNP)Acquired 2001

MCP MCP

MONTANA

Private Land

ResearcherAccom.

RanchHouse

PrivateLand

MCP

GNPAcquired

1985

GNPAcquired

1985

GNPAcquired

1995

GNPAcquired

1985

GNP Acquired1985

MONTANA

PrivateLand

RanchHouse

Fenceline Road/Trail Creek Experimental Unit Grazed Control (Potential)

- n = 12- Park lands- Ranch lands

Logistical Possibilities


Objectives

• Objective #1: Restore grazing-induced heterogeneity in mixed-grass prairie

• Objective #2: Separate multiple scales of grazing effects on mixed-grass prairie from background spatial and temporal variation (experiment)

• Objective #3: Determine grazing-induced change in multiple structural, functional and compositional indicators (monitoring)


Grasslands NPMankota CP

(Parks Canada [Henderson] 2006)

Valley plots

Upland plots

Unit2=20%

Unit3=57%

Unit4=70%

Unit8=70%

Unit7=45%

Unit7=33%

*

*



Unit2=20%

Unit3=57%

Unit4=70%

Unit8=70%

Unit7=45%

Unit7=33%

*

*



Unit2=20%

Unit3=57%

Unit4=70%

Unit8=70%

Unit7=45%

Unit7=33%

*

*



Unit2=20%

Unit3=57%

Unit4=70%

Unit8=70%

Unit7=45%

Unit7=33%

*

*


(Parks Canada [Henderson] 2006)

L. Leston

Abundance, diversity, andcommunity composition of:


23

Monitoring Component- Delivers results immediately (2006 and beyond)

Outside Park Inside Park

Grazed Ungrazed

Grazed vs. Ungrazed

Grazed Ungrazed

- 2 sample test (n = 3)- Univariate/Multivariate- Spatial variation- Temporal variation

Analytical Possibilities


24

BACI Component- Delivers results every year following impact (2008 and beyond)


2006 2007 2008 2009 year

Het

erog

enei

ty



25

Grazing Intensity Component


- Delivers results only after impact has effect (2008 and beyond)


Het

ero

2008

0 20 40 60 80 Forage Utilization

Het

ero

2012


Selected results:Pre-treatment sampling

2006 & 2007Compared grazed and ungrazed

pastures


Results: Effects of cattle grazing on plant community heterogeneity across multiple

scales (T. Teetaert)

• Higher richness in grazed lowlands than ungrazed or upland habitats (meangll = 49, P = 0.00013)

• Negative effect of grazing on northern wheatgrass cover (decreaser) (meanug = 0.34, P = 0.023)

• No effect of grazing on blue grama grass (increaser) (P > 0.05)

T. Teetaert 2007


Results: Effects of grazing on Sprague’s pipit nesting success (J. Lusk)

• Threatened; populations have declined by 85% since 1968• First study to evaluate effects of grazing on nesting success• Pipit densities were 14% higher in grazed than ungrazed• No effect of grazing on pipit nesting success• Negative effect of nest litter depth and vegetation density on

nesting success Log odds ratios indicating effects of vegetation structure in southern

Saskatchewan on daily nesting success of Sprague's pipits

Estimate LCL UCL P

Sprague's pipit nesting successNest litter depth 0.958 0.927 0.991 0.041Vegetation density 0.506 0.268 0.956 0.079

S. Davis


Results: Effects of grazing on invertebrates & prey of grassland birds (A. Selinger)

• Abundance of Carabid beetles ~ 3x higher in grazed than ungrazed

• Abundance of grasshoppers ~ 40% higher in ungrazed than grazed

• Birds did not have higher densities where beetle or grasshopperdensities or diversities were higher

L. Leston


Results: Effects of burning and grazing on avian diversity (K. White)

• Species richness and diversity were greatest in burned prairie

• Significant interaction: burning increased species richness to a greater extent in ungrazed prairie

• Species richness was negatively correlated with vegetation height, density, and litter

Ric

hnes

sGrazed Ungrazed

burned

unburned


Conclusions• (so far) effects of grazing:

• + impact on number of ecological parameters

• negatively affects some individual species

• intermediate intensity producing patchy structure may provide habitat for widest range of species

• study will help determine the most appropriate grazing intensity and stocking rate for optimizing ecological benefits while minimizing risks

• adaptive approach; research, management interplay


Acknowledgements• J. Wilmshurst (PC), D. Henderson (EC)

• Parks Canada (esp. S. Larson, P. Fargey)

• NSERC

• Endangered Species Recovery Fund (World Wildlife Fund / Environment Canada)

• U of M, CU grad students and field assistants (D. Ash, T. Teetaert, J. Lusk, A. Sellinger, B. Bleho, L. Leston, P. Hettinga, L. Murray, D. Wiens, H. Wheeler, K. White, R. Virk, B. Deschamps)


Documents

“Conservation Grazing” at Grasslands National Park ......Saskatchewan on daily nesting success of Sprague's pipits Estimate LCL UCL P Sprague's pipit nesting success Nest litter